The Pinch
by madame.alexandra
Summary: The first time Gibbs goes ballistic on the girls startles Jenny almost as much as it startles them - -but then again, emotions were running understandably high. Established ACD. Jackson, Anna, and Katharyn! (and the General makes a sage appearance!)


_a/n: this fic idea is basically the entire reason they have a third kid. :D and hey - jenny is the one with (a little) more chill this time!_

* * *

_Alexandria, Virginia_  
_President's Day, 2024_

* * *

Despite the fact that it was a federal holiday, Jennifer Shepard had plenty of work to do – something that was complicated by the fact that her daughters were out of school. She was incredibly adept at multi-tasking, though, and after a hectic morning and plenty of attention, it had been easy to convince the girls to play by themselves while Jackson napped and Jenny had some down time. They were keeping up their side of the bargain as best as they could – it was hard to entertain themselves when they had to be so quiet; Anna was doing better than Katharyn.

"When will Daddy be home?" Katharyn whispered loudly, tugging on her mother's elbow.

Jenny was sitting on the floor, using the coffee table as a desk, papers spread out around her.

"Earlier than usual," Jenny answered, checking her watch. Gibbs' team had been stuck with holiday duty, but even though it made things harder, Jenny was glad; it meant he'd get Memorial Day weekend off.

"But _when_?" Katharyn asked insistently.

"Well, he usually comes home closer to seven," she said. "I think he might be home by five, today."

Katharyn nodded. She leaned against Jenny and peered at her papers.

"Whatcha readin'?"

"Silly boring stuff," Jenny answered honestly. It was the legal decision for a recent Supreme Court case she was supposed to report on for the Senate Majority leader. It was dense and mind numbing, and she didn't even care about the issue.

Katharyn giggled. She looked at the papers a moment longer, and then ran off to resume playing with her sister – Jenny didn't know what they were doing upstairs, but as long as they were relatively quiet, she wasn't worried. She looked up at the baby monitor sitting on the table and watched it, listening to the soft sound of Jackson breathing. She expected him to wake up any moment, but she was hoping she could get through this file first.

She turned her eyes back to it, only to be interrupted as one of the dogs came over, wagging his tail and nudging her hand. He made a whining noise – he was bigger, so it was Max – and she reached out to pat him.

"What are your girls doing up there, Max?" she asked.

The baby monitor made a noise, and she looked at it sharply. She adjusted the volume and listened, letting Max lick her hand. Jackson made another noise, clearly an awake noise, and Max perked his ears up. Jenny turned and gave him a solemn look.

"It was a good nap while it lasted," she said quietly.

She waited to see if he was going to cry, but he started cooing to himself. He sounded content, so as Max laid down next to her happily, she decided she'd let Jackson amuse himself for a minute while she finished up.

She'd only read a paragraph when she heard a voice float over the monitor.

"_Katty_!"

"'_M jus' checkin – Annie! He's awake!"_

Jenny glared at the thing good-naturedly and rolled her eyes. She heard a door hit the wall – they had to stop flinging doors around! – and then a giggle.

"_Jaaaaa_-_aaack_!" sang Anna.

Jackson made a few unintelligible noises. Then –

"_Da-da-da-da-da_."

"He wants _Daddy_," Katharyn said. "Jack-Jack, only Mama is here," she told him.

She sounded so apologetic, Jenny almost laughed out loud – Katharyn didn't really understand that Jackson was only saying "da-da" because it was the easiest thing for him to vocalize – he hadn't really associated it solely with Jethro yet.

The little girls' voices faded to whispers, and then Katharyn said loudly:

"_YOU_ go ask Mommy."

Jenny waited patiently, leaning back. She shared a look with Max – Anna came hopping down the stairs.

"Mommy," Anna said, twirling around. "Jack is awake!"

"I can hear him," Jenny said gently, pointing to the monitor. "Did you and Katharyn wake him up?" she asked pointedly.

"No," Anna said, blinking abruptly. "He was awake when we opened his door."

"And how many times had you and your sister opened his door before that?" Jenny pressed.

Anna tilted her head. She didn't answer, and Jenny sighed internally – they probably had woken him up, but he had slept for a good hour and a half.

"Can we get him out of his crib?"

"You may not," Jenny answered firmly.

Anna puckered her lips.

"Mommy we wanna teach him to walk!" she whined.

"I don't want you playing with the crib; you'll pinch fingers," she said pointedly – Jackson's crib, the same one Gibbs had built for Anna, had one of the sides that dropped down, and Anna seemed to think she was old enough to work it because she'd figured out how to unlatch it – unbeknownst to her parents.

To Jenny's distress, she'd walked into the nursery one Saturday morning to find Katharyn in the crib, handing a half-awake Jackson to her older sister. They had been tired of waiting for him to wake up to play.

"He's awake!" Anna repeated.

Jenny nodded, and pointed at the monitor.

"But he's happy," she said gently. "He's not crying. And he can't move around in his crib. He's going to stay there for a minute, okay?"

Anna sighed heavily.

"But he doesn't _mooooove_ anyway," she whined.

Jenny tapped her daughter's nose lightly, grinning.

"You'd be surprised at how fast babies can scoot," she warned, and shooed her off. "Give me about five more minutes. You and Katharyn can play peek-a-boo with him from behind the bars."

Anna scampered off, rolling her eyes a little, and Jenny turned the monitor down a little; Katharyn and Anna were very good at entertaining Jackson, and they'd probably be able to keep him happy for longer than five minutes before she had to go get him and feed him. Max thumped his tale suddenly, and Jenny sighed – this time, Katharyn appeared again, bouncing on her toes.

"Jack is awake!"

"Anna told me, sweetheart," Jenny said carefully.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Katharyn nodded quickly. "Can we take 'im out and play Blocks Monster?"

They liked to set up block towers and let Jackson crawl through them, demolishing them, and pretend he was a giant monster.

"No," Jenny repeated. She pointed to the stairs. "Go play peek-a-boo with him. Or read him a picture book," he suggested.

Katharyn dragged her feet back upstairs, looking annoyed, and Jenny shook her head, a little amused. For a little girl who'd been a little wary of having a new sibling, Katharyn ended up liking her brother a lot.

Jenny was back to reading the same paragraph for the fourth or so time when the dog suddenly jumped up, barking joyfully. Jenny groaned and put her head in her hands, and that's how she looked when Gibbs came in, a smug, satisfied look on his face. He threw his things on the table and gave some attention to the dogs – Pascal had flown down the stairs to greet him. He rubbed their ears, looking over at his wife – she threw her head back, sighed, and then heaved herself up.

"This is earlier than early," she said smoothly, giving him a quick kiss.

"Turns out no one kills anyone on President's Day," Gibbs drawled.

Jenny placed her finger on his lips.

"Knock on wood," she muttered, and then kissed him again. "This is good – the girls want to play in the basement," she told him, relieved he'd decided to take a half-day.

She and Gibbs didn't allow them down there without and adult, simple because there were too many things to climb on or break.

Gibbs nodded.

"Jack?"

"He just woke up," Jenny said. "I'll feed him in a minute – winter school holidays are a drag," she added balefully – it was too cold, and too _not_ snowy, for the girls to have any desire to play outside.

Gibbs looked over her shoulder, brow furrowed.

"Did they not hear me?" he asked, wounded.

He was used to at least Katharyn still dashing to greet him.

Jenny snorted.

"They're too busy cooking up a plan to get Jackson out of his crib," she said lightly. "You should have seen Anna – it's like she thinks I'm keeping him in prison for letting him sit for – "

The rest of her words were drowned out by a high-pitched shriek and than a short, loud, cracking followed by a _thud_. Almost immediately, in conjunction with Jenny whipping around and running for the stairs, an ear-splitting wail started, and one of the girls – Anna, it sounded like – screamed:

"_MOMMY_!"

Gibbs damn near trampled her following her up the stairs. The nursery was the first door on the landing, and it was wide open; Jenny stood in the doorway paralyzed for a moment when she saw what had happened – the crib had – broken, or splintered – half of it was on the floor, and Katharyn was wailing and nursing her elbow – Anna was holding her chin –

Jenny darted forward.

"Jethro, keep the dogs back," she said sharply – she didn't want them accidentally making it worse.

"What the hell are you doing?" Gibbs barked, raising his voice – it was meant for their daughters, not for Jenny. He started into the room angrily. "What the hell is going on?" he yelled.

Her heart was slamming into her chest, and she felt like she couldn't breathe – at first, she hadn't seen the baby, even though his distressed screaming had been the loudest –she knew it was a good thing he was making sound, but there was a lot of debris on the floor.

"Jackson?" she asked, crouching down near the crib bedding.

He screamed, thrashing around – and she felt a little more relief that he was moving. Moving, screaming - both were good things; she'd rather that than unconsciousness or dead silence.

"I made Katty fall _with_ him, Mommy – " Anna whimpered – Katharyn responded by shrieking again.

"Shut-up," Gibbs barked at Anna nastily. "Jen," Gibbs said, approaching her. "Jen, is he okay – "

"He's bleeding."

She picked up the baby; she'd ascertained that he didn't seem to have any broken bones or spinal injuries. There was just a nasty gash on the side of his head, and judging by a broken part of the crib next to him, he must have hit it when he fell. Jenny held the screaming baby in a cradle, pressing the hem of her shirt to his bloody forehead. Panic rose in the throat and she stepped back carefully.

"He's bleeding a lot, Jethro," she said hoarsely.

Gibbs came around and looked down at him. He took of his polo and handed it to her, leaving him in his white undershirt, and before she realized what had happened, he'd turned on the girls.

"Get up," he shouted. "Anna, Katharyn – how many times have we told you not to touch the goddamn crib?" he bellowed.

It didn't register right away that he was yelling really loudly, Jenny was too worried about Jackson. She backed up quickly, avoiding the dogs.

"I'm calling the pediatrician," she managed.

"Jen, it's a holiday – "

"I'm calling her at home," Jenny snapped. "I think he needs an ER," she added, turning. "I'll – "

Gibbs followed her.

"Just take him to the ER, I'll call while you drive," he said.

"_You_ stay here with them," she said sharply.

She shot a foreboding glare at the girls, who stared at her warily, crying, and obviously startled by their father's anger.

"Mommy," wailed Katharyn. "Mommy, I'm _hurt!"_

"Your elbow is scraped," Jenny said curtly. "You're fine."

Jackson started screaming afresh, and Jenny shook her head.

"I told you not to take him out. You _hurt_ your brother, girls," she said, her voice shaking. "You – Jethro, talk to them," she said, stepping back. "I can't."

She saw a muscle in his jaw tightened.

"What were you doing?" he asked, as he turned around. His voice was raised. "She told you not to touch him – "

"We didn't take him out!" Anna interrupted loudly. "Me and Katty got in with him, and Katty heard you and she tried to jump out and – "

"_I have told you a hundred times not to climb on that crib!"_ shouted Gibbs.

Jenny cringed, hurrying down the stairs. She didn't have time to calm Gibbs down; she was worried about the bleeding cut on her infant son, and she knew no matter how angry Gibbs was, he'd never hit them. She held Jackson close, still holding Gibbs' polo to his head, and she got the diaper bag.

"I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT!" she heard her husband bellow. _"You could have killed him! Get your ass into your rooms!"_

"It's okay, Jackson," Jenny soothed, abandoning the shirt and fashioning a makeshift bandage to his head for the ride to the emergency room.

Gibbs appeared in the kitchen, his jaw tight.

"You want to call an ambulance?" he asked.

"No, no," she said, frustrated. "No, it's not that bad, I just think it needs stitches," she said. She clicked her tongue. The baby was still crying, his little voice getting more hoarse as he tried to keep up the noise level.

"I'm worried about you drivin'," Gibbs began.

"I can drive him," Jenny snapped. "Stay here; we're not taking the entire family to the ER."

He gave her a worried look, and she slung the bag over her shoulder.

"I'll call you when I get there," she said. "Make sure they're okay."

"They're fine, Jenny," he said dangerously. A muscle twitched in his jaw.

As if on cue, Anna came down a couple of stairs.

"Daddy," she sobbed, "is Jack gonna be okay?"

"Get back to your room," Gibbs said dangerously; lashing out at her, "or I'll make you wish you were never born," he threatened.

Anna's face blanched, and she dashed back up the stairs, bursting into tears.

"Jethro," Jenny started, worried – but she stopped. She couldn't deal with two different issues at once right now. She made a quick decision.

"Here," she said, handing over Jackson gently. "Here – you're trained to drive in an emergency," she relented. "You take him – you're too angry to stay here," she touched Jackson's head gingerly, and bent to kiss him. "I'll call my Dad to see if he can watch the girls, and I'll come meet you."

Her heart skipped against her ribs – she didn't want to let Jackson out of her sight, but she knew it was stupid to take the other kids to the emergency room with them. Gibbs held Jackson protectively, sliding the bag from her shoulder. He nodded tensely, and went for his keys, swiftly leaving the house. Jenny turned to the counter, leaning against it heavily.

She tried taking a few deep breaths, but when she opened her eyes, she was staring at drops of blood on her counter, blood that had fallen from her seven-month-old son's head. She started crying, pressing her hand to her mouth to muffle the sounds.

"Mommy?"

She turned, and Katharyn was peeking around the corner. Jenny noticed her knee was scraped like her elbow. It looked raw and – harmless - compared to Jackson's head. A rush of anger licked at Jenny's insides, and she tried to swallow it down; they hadn't done it on purpose, they were just children –

"Katharyn," she said, controlling her voice as best as she could. "You are in time-out. Go sit in your room."

"But – but – I didn't – "

"Go!" snapped Jenny harshly, giving her a _look_. "You need to sit and think about disobeying me!"

Katharyn stomped her foot, her lips trembling. She turned and ran away, bursting into fresh tears.

"But I didn't mean to!" she cried, and to her chagrin, Jenny heard a door slam – as if they hadn't learned their lesson about ignoring her orders – _no_ slamming doors, _no_ climbing in the crib –

Jenny covered her face for a moment, trying to force herself to breathe – Jackson had been crying loudly and energetically, he was bleeding but he was going to be okay, she was sure – she tried to calm herself down. She fumbled in her pockets for her cell phone, and called her father.

When she had composed herself a little, Jenny went upstairs to deal with her daughters – at least, she started to. She got side-tracked when she saw the mess in the nursery, and when another flash of anger surged through her, she knew she had no business talking to them yet, not when she wasn't sure she could keep her cool. She took a deep breath, took two steps back, and raised her voice firmly.

"Anna Abigayle and Katharyn Kelly Gibbs," she said clearly, enunciating sharply. "You are both in very big trouble. You are to stay in your rooms, with the door shut, until I come to talk to you. Do you understand?"

She waited, her ear ringing a little. She grit her teeth as she waited.

"_Do you understand?"_ she repeated forcefully.

Finally, two voices answered:

"Yes, Mommy."

"Yes, Mom."

Katharyn's door shut; Anna's voice was quieter, so Jenny assumed she'd already shut herself away.

She felt a twinge of guilt as she returned to the kitchen, and then confusion; she had seen that Anna and Katharyn were fine when she picked up Jackson; she shouldn't feel guilty for putting them in time out. She wet a sponge and started cleaning up, struck with the need to close her eyes every time she wiped up more blood. She washed her hands roughly, and then threw the sponge violently away; she didn't want to see it.

She wiped her forehead and took another deep breath, a fresh wave of worry washing over her – what if Jackson had a concussion? What if he bled to death – it had looked like a lot of blood. What if he had brain damage? What if they had to live with the fact that, accidentally even, their daughters had broken their son's life beyond repair?

Jenny squeezed her eyes shut tightly. She wasn't sure how long she stood there, thinking the worst Her cell phone rang, startling her out of her dark thoughts, and she answered it quickly.

"Jethro?"

She heard muted fussing in the background.

"Is he still crying?"

"He's trying to," Gibbs grunted. He cleared his throat. "The triage nurse has him," he said.

"Don't leave him," Jenny burst out. "Jethro, go hold him – sit with him - !"

"I didn't, I'm right here," he soothed. "She's weighing him."

"Why?" Jenny gasped. "His head – "

"I don't know, Jen, but she's doin' her job and I'm not gonna bitch at her about it," Gibbs interrupted sharply.

Jenny held her breath – it seemed it had been the better decision to let him go to the ER with Jackson.

"You got there fast," Jenny said finally.

Gibbs grunted again.

"Is he still bleeding?" she asked huskily.

"Not as much," Gibbs said. "'M still keepin' gauze on his head – doesn't look like they're rushin' us back," he muttered.

"I guess that's good," Jenny said tensely. "Has he stopped crying at all?" she asked, her stomach aching.

Gibbs didn't answer.

"I'll take care of him, Jen," he said finally. "I'll call you when we see a doctor."

Jenny nodded. She licked her ups, letting him hang up first. She was sliding her phone into her pocket when her father walked in the front door, setting off the dogs. She looked over as he barreled through the big German Shepherds, listening sharply to see if Katharyn or Anna would break the rules and come running to see who was home.

They didn't.

_Good_, Jenny thought grimly.

"Hey, Jennifer," the General said gruffly, his brow furrowed with concern. "I got over here fast – what happened?" he began.

He'd heard the short version on the phone, but he wasn't sure he got all of it.

"I just got off the phone with Jethro; they're at the ER," she said, taking a sharp breath.

She turned and walked towards him, reaching for his elbows. She held onto them for strength.

"Sorry to interrupt a rare day off – " she started.

He shook his head and put his arms on her shoulders, eyeing her carefully.

"How bad is it?" he asked. He raised his brows. "Jennifer," he said calmly, "how worried are we?"

She calmed down slightly, comforted by his presence; he was trained to be cooler than cool in an emergency – that's why she'd called him, since she'd sent her other military trained family member to the hospital. She swallowed hard.

"He's okay," she said. "He's – it's not life threatening – thank you for coming over, Jethro said they're in triage – "

* * *

Gibbs was sure the only reason Jackson's crying had stopped was because the baby was too exhausted to carry on – maybe he'd used up all his tears, too. His face was red and wet, and his eyes were swollen, and he kept whimpering or making noise like he was trying to cry, but he was quieter. Gibbs held him against his chest comfortably, wishing he'd thought to grab a bottle for him. He'd taken the whole diaper bag, but hadn't thought about the fact that they didn't keep bottles in it unless they had ice packs, and that had been the last thing on his mind.

There wouldn't be so much waiting if it wasn't an emergency room, but he at least knew that if Jackson's situation was considered mild enough that they had to wait, he should calm down.

Gibbs looked around, taking his eyes of Jackson for a moment. He tried to guess who in the room was considered more urgent than a seven-month-old with a head gash; he tried to ignore his conscience berating him for shouting so aggressively at his daughters. Anna and Katharyn's terrified faces kept popping up in his head – and for every time he felt ashamed, there was a time he felt his anger had been justified – if they just listened to Jenny instead of acting like she was trying to ruin their fun.

Jackson thrashed his arms and sat forward, yanking on Gibbs' shirt.

"Da-da-da-da," he whimpered pitifully, turning up his face. His big blue eyes watered again. "Da-da!" he screamed.

Gibbs shushed him quietly, picking him up and letting him stand on his lap. He kissed the side of his head; just at the edge of the gauze the nurse had taped there, and closed his eyes, tightening his jaw.

"It's oaky, buddy," he soothed gruffly. "Sorry I can't feed you," he muttered. "Mama'll feed you when she gets here," he added.

Jackson put his mouth on Gibbs' shoulder and started to gum him unhappily, simultaneously drooling and weakly crying. Gibbs silently accepted it, suddenly noticing the slightly doe-eyed, admiring look he was getting from a young mother across the room.

He turned his head and kissed Jackson's cheek again, lowering his voice.

"Little advice, kid," he said. "Women love men with babies," he drawled.

"Jackson Gibbs?"

Gibbs almost jumped out of his skin when the name was called, for a second sure his wife had somehow heard him gloating about some female attention. He looked up, and then stood abruptly when he saw a nurse.

She beckoned and Gibbs, relieved, followed her into the heart of the hospital, finally hoping for some relief for his son.

* * *

Jasper Shepard had done two important things once he got the whole story out of his daughter: he'd made her a cup of tea, and he'd gone upstairs to check on the girls.

He was gentle with them – mainly, he was making sure no injuries had been overlooked in the panic about the baby – and he calmly told them they were still in time out.

"Grandpa, _please_ let me out," Katharyn moaned, kneeling dramatically at his feet when he tried to leave. "I got hurt too – I'm _sooorry_!"

Jasper picked her up easily and placed her on her bed, handing her a book – he didn't expect them to sit in their rooms and stare at the wall; time-out or not, they were still young and still learning.

"Kate, you scrape your knees a lot," he reminded her solemnly. "You know that, and your Mommy knows that, and I think you'd be very smart not to whine too much about a small thing," he advised, turning to leave again.

"But Mommy doesn't _caaaare_," moaned Katharyn.

"Kit Kat," Jasper said firmly. "I promise you, she cares. But Mommy is very scared. _You_ be brave, okay?"

Katharyn glowered at him, and nodded her head, and he left again, starting down the hall. He entered the nursery, where Jenny was sitting in the rocking chair, elbows on her knees. She gestured. The General let out a low whistle, surveying the wreckage – he hadn't ever thought he'd see that sturdy, gorgeous piece of work Gibbs had made look like something out of a Godzilla movie.

"How'd they manage that?" he asked.

He swore, crouching down and picking up one of the bars – it had busted off.

Jenny shook her head, pushing her hair back.

"They're too heavy for that crib – I've been telling them," she broke off, shaking her head. Annoyance touched the corners of her mouth, and she stood up, coming over to look. Her father looked up at her intently.

"Anna used to crawl in there with Katharyn, I'd let them snuggle sometimes," she said tersely. "The last few months Katharyn was in the crib, I quit putting Anna in with her and she'd try to climb in – she busted her lip once, and I got onto her."

Jenny took a deep breath and pushed her hair back again.

"I kept telling her and Katharyn both – they're too big to be crawling on it, they're too old – you know, and they're always wanting to get him out," she grit her teeth. "I haven't gotten the whole story; I think they climbed in there to play with him because I forbid them to get him out and – and it _broke_."

The General grunted, nodding his head.

"Why'd they think they could get him out?"

"Oh," Jenny said, frustrated. "Oh they – Katharyn climbed in there one morning and Anna loosed the hatch and Katharyn tried to dangle him down to her – a few weeks ago," she explained.

Jasper arched his eyebrows, and laughed.

Jenny grit her teeth.

"Jethro laughed, too – and I got onto them, I forbid them to do it again, but _we_ did laugh about it, it was a funny picture and this – " she broke off.

Jasper watched her cheeks flame, and sensed she was feeling guilty and angry with herself. He nodded, throwing the part of the crib back down. He reached in in gathered up the soft bedding, putting aside some of the parts with blood on it. Jenny looked at those pieces, and retreated, sitting down in the rocking chair. Her father pushed around the wood for a moment, and then got up and came over. He pulled out a small stool – one used when Anna stood on it to help change a diaper – and sat down, looking almost comical all scrunched up.

"I know they didn't mean to," she said tensely, "but I told them explicitly – I told them _twice_ – not to touch him, to just play peek-a-boo until I came upstairs – and we _have_ told them not to climb on the damn crib."

Her father nodded.

"They disobeyed. They get in trouble," he said simply – he agreed with that.

She swallowed hard, and shook her head. She pressed her knuckles to her mouth.

"I don't know if they understand how badly they could have hurt him," she choked out.

The General was willing to bet that if they hadn't, they understood now, but he didn't say that. Jasper grit his teeth, and sighed, reaching out to rest a comforting hand on Jenny's knee. She chewed on her lip, her muscles tight.

"I've never _seen_ Jethro so mad at them – I've rarely seen him that angry at all," she admitted. "He gets that way at work, with suspects," she trailed off. "He's always the one with more patience with them, and I nag him because then I'm the bad guy – "

"Jen, I think it probably scared him as bad as you," Jasper said frankly.

"I know _that_," she said hoarsely, giving her father a look. "Any man would be scared to see his son bleeding on the floor!" She didn't have delusions about her husband; Gibbs cared just as much about their children as she did, and he had never been particularly concerned with hiding that emotion. "It's just," she trailed off again.

"What?" the General asked.

"He scared them," she whispered. "I know he did. I didn't think he was capable of getting that angry with them and I'm – glad he finally did. I was _glad_ he yelled at them like that. And I feel like shit because I was glad. I was busy with Jackson but in the back of my mind I kept thinking – _they deserve to be scared. I hope they're terrified. I hope they feel like I do_."

"Jennifer," Jasper said calmly. "You've got a right to be mad at them," he began.

"Yes," his daughter agreed firmly. "Yes, but they're _little_. I'm not saying I'm mad at Jethro, either; I can tell you he feels despicable. I just … I feel terrible that I was glad, and I'm upset that we scared them, but I'm still mad at them – "

Her father was nodding, taking her hands in his.

"I see what you're saying," he said gruffly. "You're gonna lose your temper, Jenny," he said frankly. "You'll just tell them that adults make mistakes, too, if you need to."

"What if we scarred them – "

"Jennifer, parents lose their temper," Jasper said flatly. "What matters is how you deal with it later. You make sure they know you didn't stop loving them."

"You never lost your temper," she said moodily.

Her father laughed out loud.

"I seem to recall ripping you a new one when your husband dumped you on my doorstep drunk," he pointed out smugly. "I hated yelling at you like that."

"Dad, I was seventeen when that happened," she said dully. "I wasn't a little kid with no concept of – I knew I deserved that. I mad a stupid choice. They didn't do this on purpose; they didn't mean any harm – "

He took a deep breath.

"I lost my temper with you plenty when you were little," he said.

"I don't remember – "

"'Course you don't," Jasper said bluntly. "'Cause it didn't happen all the time. And you were little. And all the good stuff outweighed the few times I lost my cool."

She pushed her hair back, watching him intently. She licked her lips, and then tilted her head –

"The glue stick," she said hoarsely.

The General grinned sheepishly.

"You do remember," he said.

She swallowed hard.

"You pinched me," she accused, laughing a little.

He nodded. She'd been in first grade, and she'd been working on a project – and she'd liked the sparkly purple of her glue stick, so she'd set to decorating his uniform with it, and ruined the starched collar. He'd grabbed it out of her hand, shouted at her, and pinched her wrist, hard.

"I beat myself up about that for a year, Jenny," he said seriously. "And it wasn't just that I hurt you, and real men don't hurt their daughters," he paused gruffly. "You looked right at me and screamed that you wanted your Mommy, and thinking I was worse than her cut me deep."

Jenny laughed huskily.

"I really don't remember asking for that bitch," she teased.

He grinned, and squeezed her hand.

"You let 'em sit for a while, let 'em think. I'll keep checkin' on 'em," he said. "They're gonna be okay, Jenny," he promised. "They're not the first kids to really piss off their parents," he said grimly.

She smiled a little, and took a deep breath. She looked over at the mess of a crib, and started to stand.

"I've got to – I can't look at this, will you help me - ?"

He frowned, turning to look. He turned back to her.

"Hon, just go to the hospital," he said, smirking a little. "You won't think straight waitin' for Gibbs to call you. I'll stay here, I'll make 'em dinner." He paused, and then gave her a wink. "I won't be too nice to 'em," he promised.

She laughed a little, and started nodding slowly.

"Okay," she agreed softly. "Okay – _thank you_."

* * *

"We've kind of been gossiping about him at the station."

Jenny arched an eyebrow absently as she walked with the nurse down the hall, barely listening to her nice conversation. She only started listening when the woman laughed quietly.

"Of course, most men are involved parents these days, but it still gets me," the nurse shook her head. "This way," she indicated, stopping at a door.

Jenny hesitated, and looked at her curiously.

"I'm sorry – what's unique about Jethro?" she asked. She'd thought the woman was talking about Jackson, commenting on how cute he was or something.

The old nurse chuckled.

"Well, he hasn't put the baby down once," she said, winking. "Most people put the baby down."

With that, she showed Jenny into the room, leaving the door open for a moment. Jenny rushed directly over to a chair in the corner, where Gibbs was sitting and, indeed, holding the baby.

A crib-like hospital bed was empty in the middle of the room. The nurse looked at a chair, and cleared her throat.

"The doctor should actually be in in just a moment," she said, and left, shutting the door again.

Gibbs glared at the closed door.

"Third time she's said that," he muttered.

Jenny pressed her lips to his hard, kissing in for a good minute before she broke away and looked down at her son. Jackson rested peacefully in Gibbs' arms, his face relaxed. She touched her heart and reached down with her hand, gently tickling his chest.

"He's sleeping," she said with wonder.

Gibbs nodded.

"He's exhausted," he grunted. "They gave him some mild painkillers, put some numbing cream on his cut," he said.

He shifted, and pulled back the light layer of gauze. Jenny sucked in her breath – cleaned up and free of blood, the gash looked almost nastier, and it did look deep. She licked her lips.

"Oooh, and I had almost stopped being angry at them," she murmured softly, with no real malice.

Jackson opened his eyes and looked at her sleepily. He reached up and, she smiled.

"He's starving," Gibbs grunted.

Jenny smiled, taking him, pressing light kisses to his face.

"I know," she murmured. "Does your head hurt, buddy?" she asked softly. "I'm so sorry," she soothed, kissing just the edge of the gauze.

Gibbs watched, his shoulders falling. He stretched his arms a little; they felt dead from holding the baby. He leaned forward and rubbed his hands over his face, his muscles aching. He was tired of behind in this room; he'd thought when they'd gone back it would be fast, but a nurse had just cleaned up Jackson and said a doctor would be in "soon."

Jenny nudged his knee with hers and gave him a look. He stood up quickly, giving her the chair.

She sat down, adjusting the buttons on her shirt.

"You bring a bottle?" Gibbs asked lamely.

She gave him an amused look.

"I brought my breasts," she told him.

He nodded sheepishly. He watched her try to get Jackson situated, trying to ignore the guilt nagging at him. He lifted his eyes to his wife's face as she tilted her head back with a sigh of relief, resting one hand lightly over the baby's face, demurely covering her breast.

"Your dad with the girls?" he asked.

Jenny nodded.

He rubbed his jaw and walked towards the crib, looking at it. He turned and leaned against it loudly.

"Jen," he began warily. "I lost it – "

"I'm not mad at you," she said in a calm voice, shaking her head a little.

Her fingers moved as she patted Jackson on the back. She was calmer now that she could see him, and could definitely figure that he would be fine. The panic was over.

"I was mad – "

"It's okay, Jethro," she interrupted again.

He grit his teeth, annoyed. He was trying to apologize, trying to assuage his guilt. He came closer and crouched down, watching her.

"You didn't see how they were lookin' at me," he said, his voice raw. He swallowed hard. "I shouldn't have – they really could've hurt him," he said gruffly. He shook his head, swearing. "I swore at 'em, too," he confessed.

She licked her lips, thinking about her talk with her father.

"I wanted to throttle them, too," she admitted dryly. She lifted her shoulders, seeing things in a more balanced way now that Jackson was safely nursing. "There was a lot going on, Jethro. We've never had a real emergency like that."

"Not an excuse," Gibbs said, admonishing himself.

Jenny shifted, and sat forward, easily holding Jackson up against her.

"You know what I keep thinkin?" she asked softly. "I keep thinking – I shouldn't have laughed after I caught them trying to get him out of the crib," she murmured. "I'm too lax about letting them get cuts and scrapes. I – "

"I built the damn thing, Jen," Gibbs said tensely. He shook his head, teeth gritted heavily. "It shouldn't have busted like that."

She shook her head.

"It's seven years old," she said pointedly. "And a seven-year-old and a five-year-old climbed in and were jumping around – Dad told me, before I left, that Anna said Katharyn was _jumping_ up and down trying to spring out, when she heard you come home."

Gibbs still looked distressed, and she reached out and brushed his jaw with her knuckles.

"That crib didn't break because you built it poorly," she said firmly.

"I scared the shit out of our kids, Jen," he said hoarsely. He sounded so upset with himself.

Jenny sighed, shrugging a little.

"Now you know how it feels," she teased a little. She licked her lips. "I lose my tempter a lot more than you do – "

"Not like that," he said darkly.

"No," she agreed. "But I've made them cry, and I've said no, and I've lost my cool, and they forgive me," she told him. She took a deep breath. "Jethro, we're good parents. We can't tear ourselves up every time we make a mistake."

"Jen – "

"Every time I've snapped at them, I've learned a little bit more about how to stay patient," she told him. "You got mad, Jethro. You were scared and you – I don't blame you," she admitted grudgingly.

"Ah," he sighed heavily, shaking his head. "They didn't do it on purpose."

Jenny nodded, looking down to check on Jackson. He was done, and he blinked, starting to fuss. She soothed him gently, rocking him a little, and stood him up on her lap, holding him close. She hugged him lightly, keeping him close to her shoulder.

"Da-da-da-da," he babbled against her shoulder.

"He won't remember this, at least," Jenny said, trying to cheer up her husband.

Gibbs smiled vaguely, his eyes on his son.

"Dad's taking care of them," Jenny told him. "We can talk to them when we get home."

Gibbs nodded after a moment, resigned.

"If we ever get home," he said – right as a doctor opened the door.

The man grinned at Gibbs, grabbing a chart.

"I think I can help with that," he said in a confident, smooth voice. He strolled over, and looked down at Jenny, holding the baby. He read some information, and then folded his arms. "When she was seven, my daughter crashed into her fourteen-month-old sister with her bike. My wife was standing right there, couldn't stop it. Four stiches and six bruises," he said, giving both Jenny and Gibbs an encouraging look. "They're best friends now."

Gibbs just glared at the doctor, but Jenny smiled – at least in the realm of sibling-caused childhood accidents, they weren't alone.

* * *

The General was asleep on the couch in front of an old episode of _Family Feud_ when they got home. Jenny laughed a little, cuddling a sleepy Jackson. The doctor had given him about a third of a teaspoon of Benadryl to help him sleep, and he had his cut nicely fixed up. Gibbs strolled over to the couch with a look on his face that was entirely too gleeful. He promptly reached out and slapped the General in the back of the head.

"You're supposed to be watchin' my kids," he growled loudly, as his father-in-law woke with a jolt.

"I am," griped Jasper, rubbing his head as he sat up. He pointed at Gibbs. "You ever do that again, I'll castrate you."

"Hey now, Dad, that part of him is very important to me," Jenny said.

Gibbs stood there, gloating, blocking the TV, while Jenny came around. The General rubbed his face, yawned, and groaned, looking up. He perked up a little and reached out his arms.

"Let me see the little soldier," he growled.

Jenny handed the drowsy baby over, and the General settled Jackson on his lap, looking at him carefully.

"That's a dashing battle scar you got there," he said seriously. He winked. "Lady-killer," he drawled.

Gibbs grinned proudly. Jasper leaned in and looked at the wound.

"Those aren't stitches," he said slowly.

"It's Dermabond," Jenny said. "It's like – medical super glue," she explained. "The doctor said it's less prone to infection, and it won't leave such a scar. Easier for babies, and his cut was shallow enough for it."

"Huh," the General grunted, reaching out to prod it gently. "Wish we had that when I was in the Army."

"Dad, you're still in the Army," Jenny reminded him, rolling her eyes.

The General prodded the wound again, fascinated. Jackson lurched back.

"_Dad_," snapped Jenny, taking the baby back. "It's _tender_."

Jasper grunted and stood up, patting Jackson's head. He leaned forward and kissed him, and then turned to Jenny and Gibbs solemnly.

"I made 'em dinner; they ate all their vegetables," he said. "Katharyn had a bath and I cleaned out that scrape; Anna told me she'd join a nunnery as long I promised I saved Jackson from the jaws of death – "

"What?" Gibbs asked, startled.

"Anna knows what a nunnery is?" Jenny asked, bemused.

"You've met your stepmother, haven't you?" the General asked bluntly. "'Bout as tall as my shoulder, she's Latina, Catholic, never shuts up about being Catholic – "

"Yeah, Dad, I get it," Jenny laughed. She felt a little lighter. "Where are they?" she asked.

"I sent them to bed."

"It's six o'clock," Gibbs said.

"They're in trouble aren't they?" the General demanded.

Jenny laughed.

"Yes, but you're punishing me if they go to sleep this early," she said.

"You're in luck," Jasper said. "They're not asleep. I've heard 'em runnin' back and forth from each other's rooms for the past half hour," he snorted.

Gibbs folded his arms knowingly. Jasper shook his shoulders out a little, and folded his, too.

"You need me to stay?" he asked.

Jenny shook her head.

"Thanks for the rescue," she said, leaning forward to kiss his cheek.

He waved off her gratitude, kissed her, kissed the baby, and clapped Gibbs on the shoulder. He grabbed his coat, keys, and cover, and gave her a look as he started to leave, arching a brow knowingly.

"Remember, G.I. Jen," he said, giving her a wink. "Sometimes parents pinch."

Jenny smiled, and watched him leave. Gibbs stared at the door, and then gave the sleeping baby a look.

"Jen, is he goin' off the deep end?" he asked, deadpan.

"Shut-up, Jethro," Jenny laughed, turning to him. "It's a long story."

She looked down at Jackson, brushing his light hair back. She pursed her lips. She looked up at Gibbs.

"Want to go convince them we still love them?" she asked, half-serious.

Gibbs held out his hand as if to say _– lead the way_.

* * *

"Anna, will you please come in to Mommy and Daddy's bedroom?"

Jenny opened her daughter's door and gently asked, leaving it open as she moved down the hall and did the same to Katharyn.

Katharyn took a moment to move, but Anna was out of her bed and in the master bedroom so fast Jenny was convinced she had teleported. Katharyn followed slowly, warily, and Jenny let them go at their own pace.

Gibbs was already in there, sitting up against the headboard. Jackson was asleep on his chest.

Anna darted up to the side of the bed.

"Daddy, Daddy," she whispered. "Is he okay?"

Her blue eyes watered.

"I didn't mean to hurt him, I swear, I tried to make Katty fall under him, I pulled on her hair – I'm sorry – "

Gibbs reached out and pressed his finger to her lips, shaking his head a little. He was gently, and Jenny sat on the bed, coaxing Katharyn up with her and pulling the five-year-old into her lap.

Katharyn stared at the baby, and then she tilted her head up at Jenny.

"Did he die?" she asked fearfully.

Jenny rocked her a little.

"No," she said softly. She didn't even like hearing that question, it made her feel so cold and hollow – just the mere thought of losing one of them was devastating. "He's okay. He got some strong sticky glue to heal his cut," she explained.

Anna climbed up on the bed, kneeling near her father's feet.

"I didn't know the crib was gonna break," she began, her voice shaky.

Jenny nodded, and held up her hand.

Anna swallowed.

"Grandpa told us we should listen," Anna whimpered. "We're sorry. We were scared about Jack – we _were,_ Katty, too – "

"Sorry," Katty said sincerely, nodding, and looking up at Jenny again. "I love him. He's my favorite brother. I'm sorry – "

Jenny shushed her quietly, afraid she was going to cry if Katharyn said anymore.

She was sure her father had gently spoken to them, and they seemed okay; she should have seen earlier that they were very worried about their brother, too, right when it had happened.

"Please tell me what happened," Jenny said calmly.

Anna licked her lips.

"We didn't try to get him out, Katty and I climbed in," she said shakily. "'Cause we used to sleep in there, too – only then it made a creaky noise, so I stood up to get out – and Katty heard Daddy come home," Anna stopped, and swallowed.

"I jumped," Katharyn said in a small voice. "My foot made a hole."

"Jack started to fall," Anna whimpered, "so I grabbed Katty's hair and tried to make her fall with him, because she's soft – "

"My leg broked it more," Katharyn said softly. "Annie flipped over the side."

Jenny looked between them, trying not express any horror at the full story. She couldn't believe – she felt mortified, guilty, devastated that she'd been downstairs while this was happening. But – the baby had been in the crib, and Anna was seven, and Katharyn was five – they played alone all the time!

Gibbs cleared his throat.

"Did your mother order you to leave Jackson in his crib?" he asked firmly.

Anna and Katharyn looked at him and nodded quickly.

"Has she told you before not to climb on the crib?" Gibbs continued.

"Yes." "Yeah."

Jenny cleared her throat.

"Yes, sir," both girls corrected quickly.

"Do you understand that when Mommy gives you an order, you are to listen?" Gibbs asked.

They both nodded swiftly.

"Mommy," Anna said, crawling towards her. "I didn't mean to hurt him – I didn't – "

"I know," Jenny said gently.

She took a deep breath.

"I want you to know that you are to listen to me. I say _no _to keep you safe, not to be mean," she told them.

"Okay," Katharyn said softly. "I was scared when we fell," she whispered.

"I was scared, too," Jenny said. She licked her lips. "You even scared Daddy, big time."

Gibbs leaned forward, sitting up straighter.

"Daddy is never scared," Katharyn whispered.

Jenny ruffled her hair.

"You scared Daddy like when you accidentally step on Pascal's tail, and he yelps at you," she explained. "Daddy is just as protective of Jackson as he is of you girls, and he yelled because he thought you were being careless."

Anna looked at Gibbs.

"I lost my temper," Gibbs said, looking between them both. "I shouldn't have shouted."

Anna tilted her head at him.

"Do you really wish I was never born?" she asked.

Jenny caught her breath. She looked at Gibbs, and for a split second, she was genuinely convinced her husband was about to burst into tears. The look passed though, and he shook his head, reaching out.

"No, Anna," he said. "I love you more than anything."

"More than Katty?" she asked slyly.

"Hey," Katharyn whispered, blinking her wide eyes.

Gibbs winked at her soothingly.

Jenny took another deep breath.

"Sometimes grown ups get really mad and lose their temper," she said. "We make mistakes, too. Daddy didn't mean to scare you. I didn't mean to make you feel like I didn't care about you," she explained gently. Jenny made a motion to Gibbs, and he shifted Jackson, showing his face to the girls.

"Can you two apologize to your brother?" Jenny asked.

They both moved closer.

"I'm sorry, Jack," Anna said. "You're teeny and I'll be more careful."

"Me too, Jack," Katharyn said. "I'm sorry. I'll watch _Mary Poppins_ with you."

Jenny smiled at that. She kissed the top of Katharyn's head, and Gibbs cleared his throat.

"You were in trouble because you disobeyed," he said. "You were reckless. That doesn't mean we don't love you," he said firmly.

Jenny met his eyes, and nodded.

"I'm sorry for yelling mean things," he said firmly. "I didn't mean to scare you." He paused, meeting their eyes. "Do you forgive me?"

Anna and Katharyn both nodded earnestly, relieved. Jenny smiled. She let go of Katharyn so she could go hug her father, and then she crawled forward to take Jackson while Gibbs hugged both girls tightly. They sat back and, with her father in mind, Jenny leaned forward and gave them each a soft, affectionate pinch on the cheek, followed by a kiss in the same place. She smoothed their hair back.

"You each go pick out a book," she said lightly. "We can read in here tonight – and we're not going to have any ice cream snack before bed," Jenny told them levelly.

They both agreed without protest; losing their snack was a punishment they could deal with, and they both looked happy as they scrambled to go get books. Holding her son protectively, Jenny fell back and snuggled into Gibbs' side, letting out a tired, heavy breath.

"This is so hard," she whined lightly, referring to parenting.

Gibbs ran his hands over Jackson's hair softly, wrapping his arm around Jenny warmly.

He still felt guilty, but he accepted that he was going to make mistakes as a parent – and now he did have a better grasp on how Jenny felt; she did _tend_ to yell at them a lot more, and he always thought she overacted when she felt so bad about it later.

"Did your father ever yell at you like that?" Jenny asked absently.

"Jen, he was like that all the time," Gibbs remembered warily.

The late Jackson Gibbs had always been ragging on him – pushing him to be better, relentless sometimes, harsh. It wasn't miserable, but it hadn't always been easy, wit a tough-as-nails old man like that.

"You're a good father, Jethro," she murmured to him, her lips against his shoulder.

He squeezed her arm.

He accepted the compliment, and he said the same about her – replacing the word with 'mother' – and she laughed a little hoarsely.

"If I think you're good, and you think I'm good, we're at least decent parents, right?" she mused.

"You're the best parents," Anna said, skipping back in the room. She giggled, and crawled onto the bed. "Know what Grandpa said?" she asked.

Gibbs groaned playfully – what had beloved _Grandpa_ said in the absence of the parents? Gibbs hadn't trusted is affectionate stories since Katharyn had told him Jasper was ruining all the cute things Gibbs had done for Jenny by twisting them into dumb fairytales.

"He was telling us that Daddy and you still loved us," Anna said, as Katharyn hopped up with a book of her own. "And Grandpa said, he said, he _knows_, because our Daddy waited years for our Mommy to get over herself so he could have us."

"_DID_ he now?" Jenny asked loudly while for once in his life, Gibbs smugly grinned at her, having come out on the winning side of one of Jasper's ridiculous anecdotes.

"That's right," Gibbs said, faithfully adhering to the narrative.

"He said loving means yells, sometimes," Katharyn said solemnly.

"Yeah, so I told Katty he's right," Anna said rapidly. "Because you yell at Daddy sometimes but then you also still kiss his mouth."

Jenny laughed, loudly at first, and then hushed herself, trying not to disturb Jackson.

"Grandpa made a very good point," she conceded. "Sometimes, people yell because they love you."

Katharyn and Anna beamed, and snuggled up to Gibbs, placing books on his chest.

"Where is Jack gonna sleep?" Katharyn ventured suddenly.

Jenny sighed, wincing a little.

"Cradle," Gibbs grunted automatically. "Anna, you and Katharyn will take your stuffed animals out of them and – "

"Jethro, he's too big for the cradle," Jenny murmured. He had his own, but it had been given to Katharyn last month so she could have one like Anna's for her toys.

Gibbs looked at her warily suddenly.

"He's going to sleep with Mommy and Daddy," Jenny told the girls. "Until we buy a new crib."

Gibbs gave her a long-suffering look – he hated sleeping with babies in the bed, he was absolutely petrified he'd roll over on one of them, and it had kept him completely sleepless on the handful of nights that Jenny had, out of exhaustion, allowed an infant in their bed – she wasn't a co-sleeper, either.

Gibbs sighed, and gave playful – he was careful to make sure he looked playful – glares to the girls.

"Look what you did," he sighed dramatically.

He darted his hands out to tickle them, and they shrieked, laughing and begging for mercy. Jenny watched him, as he shifted forward and pretended to growl at them, a relaxed mile on his face, and she smiled, looking down to check on Jackson. She touched his little wound lightly and held him close.

It struck her that she should be grateful this was the first scary, emergency-worthy accident she'd had in seven years as a mother; she was glad that they had weathered it with nothing more than some very sticky skin glue and a couple of pinches and apologies.

* * *

_President's Day, 2024_

* * *

_so, two things: a) my dad's thing is sleeping on the couch and "watching" family feud, so s/o to him from Jasper (haha) and b) there were a select few times when my dad really lost his tempter and let me HAVE it, but what really struck me about those moments was he always sat me down and apologized and asked me to come sit with him and told me it wasn't my fault he lost his cool, and then he'd quietly tell me why he'd been so mad. i always laugh about those few daunting moments exactly because of how gentle and apologetic he was afterwards. like he would really go spectacularly ballistic. i mean like ... it's really unrealistic that a parent would never just totally lose it. so i hope you're not too hard on jethro or jenny! (not to mention had kind of a strict upbringing where my mom was a hardass and my dad was a softy and i LOVE my upbringing, so i tend to think it's "correct" and it informs my writing. i'll stop RAMBLING on now. _

_-alexandra  
story #256_

_p.s - my brother, when he was 14 months, used to climb out of his crib and "flop" to the floor. my parents didn't know what to do, so they started putting him on the floor of his room to nap. it's a funny story we tell at holidays, but i always think like ... it's a funny story, yeah, but if he'd gotten hurt, then it would be like a "oh and what fucking terrible parents, how dare they allow this" even though they weren't "letting" him per se. and i feel like a lot of incidents are like that. i mean once i pushed my brother out of a six foot tall tree house because i thought i was "helping" him grab onto the monkey bars. he was fine, and i got spanked. so like i try to portray parenting as kind of the crap shoot it is. _


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